ToadWorks Mr. Ed

I am a recording engineer with 15 years of experience. This pedal only took me about an hour to dial in the desired tone. I gave it an eight because someone with less experience at getting good tones might have to invest a bit more time dialing in the sound. It did require amp EQ tweaking and pickup height adjustment, but the overall effect is very impressive. Mine is #0622, I do not know where that falls as far as how recently it was made.

I would have given this pedal a ten but while chugging palm muted chords there is a bit of what I call a metallic warble, most noticable when using a solid state amp (Marshall mg15cd). It is not present on open chords at all, and hardly noticable when using a tube amp. Contrary to previous postings, this pedal is not a one trick pony, I have been able to dial in many very usable tones with this pedal. It also is very touch resposive, play soft and the sound cleans up, play hard and get the full effect. I have set it up with a modified Crate Blue Voodoo 50watt head, an old Crate 4x12 cab I loaded with new Celestion 70-80's wired in stereo. As for guitars, I use a Fender Strat that I custom built myself in the image of Eddie's original white and black striped Strat, also a '99 Ivory Epiphone Les Paul Custom I completely re-did (think Randy Rhoads). Yes, it does the brown (VH) sound very, very well but it is not limited to that only.

I only received this pedal this week, but I opened it up and my inspection revealed all high quality components. I really expect this pedal will outlast alot of my other pedals. Yes I would use it at a gig with no backup.

I have not dealt with them, but according to previous posts, they seem very customer oriented.

Overall, this is the best I have found to reproduce the brown sound. I play all original classic style rock, old school punk, and some southern rock, and this pedal, with some tweaking, gets me right where I want to be. If it were stolen I would definately buy another, as for losing it? Well, that is not going to happen. I am as happy with this pedal as I could be, It ROCKS!

Very easy to use. 3 knobs.........

Sounds great. Get's a great "Brown Sound" through my Marshall Hand-Wired 100 wt. head. Had some problems with it at first but Ryan at Toadworks was very helpful (see below).

Very well built.

I bought the unit on e-bay and it was an early model (I think #45). It totally lacked any bass response and when I called the company, Ryan was great and just had me ship him the unit and he replaced it. A+ on this issue.

Like others have said, this unit is pretty much one trick. You should not use this as your only overdrive unless you are in a VH cover-band! It does exactly what it promises.

Fool with the knobs, adjust the level, idiot proof.

I've been playing local gigs for many years and like all of us I'm always looking for the perfect distortion box that does it all. I've come to believe that it doesn't exist and you just gotta have a number of pedals to get the sounds you need. I play through an early 70's silverface twin that I had modded by a local San Diego amp tech to blackface circuit. My guitars are a '62 reissue strat and an old Hamer USA FM special. My effects: Duncan Booster>modded Dunlop Wah>George Dennis Chorus>SIB Echo>Mr. Ed>Zvex Seek Trem. I use Mr. Ed mostly for adding a little bit of color to my strat which I use for most songs. Mr. Ed is capable of some heavy rock tones and of course does the EVH thing to a T. I couldn't agree more with the prior reviewer, this is a boutique pedal that take some getting used to. I just dumped my Tonebone Classic because it won't do the mild overdrive to my satisfaction and Mr. Ed handles that job nicely.

Built like a tank with the highest quality components. I use it at gigs all the time with no back up.

When I first got it the footswitch started cutting in and out. Sometimes I'd stomp it and no problema, sometimes it would cut the sound out completely. I went to the website and contacted them via email. Ryan Dunn, the President of Toadworks, personally answered my email in less than 12 hours. He fixed it for me for free even though I had purchased it used. He told me that at one point they got a batch of bad switches that didn't start going bad until used for a couple of months. Great guy, great company. I would highly recommend doing business with them.

I play everything hard rock. A lot of classic but some modern stuff too. Been playing forever and owned too much to list. If Mr. Ed were lost or stolen I'd replace it for sure. I love the way this unit sounds at stage volume. It really comes to life. This is a professional's tool and I think you have to be at a close to pro level to really appreciate it. Mr. Ed is comparable to other boutique pedals, Fulltone, Maxon, etc. and better than the usual Boss, DOD, etc. I replaced my modded Boss MIJ SD-1 with this.

Mr. Ed gets a solid 9.

I reserve 10 for that stompbox that will replace all the others, be better than the distortion channel of my amp (no way) and doesn't exist.

Easy to use: the brown, tone and level controls on the new version 3 of this pedal are very responsive. The manual is easy to follow and even suggests the best battery to use,(yes, they do sound different), but I use the 9 volt jack. Mr. Ed has a bright green on/off indicator light, a good idea considering the bright red box. Green and blue are easier to see under stage lights any way.It does take a while on different guitars to dial in the sound. It is a very responsive pedal, therefore guitar volume, pedal volume and brown level, plus your amp settings come into play. Many boutique pedals need time to get used to. Large run manufacturers make pedals for the masses, that work great out of the box and sound acceptable to good, but not usually spectacular, although there are always exceptions.

I am writing this review, as many people read these reviews for products not readily available in their area. The reviews for this product have been from outlandishly glowing to damning. The Toadworks web site has sound bites that were almost Van Halen like sounding, but the player on the MP3's is not competent enough to tell if the sounds are true.

I wrote to Steve's Music in NY state to ask about the pedal. He sent me an excerpt from letter from the manufacturer saying that all the bugs were finally worked out and that the product has gone through more testing and modification. I ordered the pedal hoping for the best. I live in Japan.

The web site claims a Van Halen sound clone and that's exactly what I wanted. I was searching for the perfect modded Marshall tone. I play through a tweed Fender Pro Jr.,( it accepts pedals very well), using a Hamer Californian Elite loaded with EMG's, '71 Fender telecaster loaded with Seymour Duncan Nashville 5-2's, and a Warmoth strat with all pro quality parts and SD 5-2 and SSL-1 p-ups. For OD pedals, I currently am using a Boss Metal Zone, Xotic Effects AC Booster, a Visual Sound Route 66 and the Mr. Ed.

Now, previous posts said that this pedal was low gain. It can be true. If you don't adjust your guitar levels, the pedal levels AND your amp levels you won't find the tone. This pedal is input and touch sensitive. With each guitar I changed, I made adjustments. My pedal tone was always on full. at 9:00 on brown, you get a great Marshall bluesy tone from the great artists from the British 60's. It's like a plexi front morphed with an early 80's JCM 800. This tone was obtained with my strat.

For my tele in the same position, it sounded like the tone from the Stones, "Gimme Shelter", like a Boogie with sweet harmonic overtones. In my set up, the only other way to get this sound is with possibly a TC Electronics Distortion/Overdrive from the early 80's, which is now a pricey collectable.

With the Hamer in the same position, it was like modern version of ZZ Tops El Loco sound.

Please keep in mind that these are approximations. All gears and all players have a different feel. After 18 years of guitar playing, I am still a mediocre player at best.

Now, for the Van Halen Sound with 80%-100% brown. Another review said that this pedal sounded like a bad buzzing sound. This can be true if your pick ups are very hot and your amps volume is too low. You MUST be playing your amp at a reasonable volume for the pedal to kick in for it's intended use. Many boutique manufacturer's pedals don't come to life until your at a live sound setting, not bed room volume. Menatone pedals are a good example of this. This pedal comes alive at just before neighbour annoying volume. the tiny parametric sweep that you here from the phase 90 on VH's albums comes into play when you are at proper rockin' volume. It is subtle, but it is there. It sounded great with the strat, the tele sounded like the Cult's, "Love Removal Machine", and the Hamer had to be backed off on the guitar volume, or it was input overload. I have the same problem with my RAT 2, but the Rat loses tone as I back off, the Mr. Ed doesn't. It delivered the sound as promised. It sounded exactly like Van Halen playing along with, "You Really Got Me", complete with 2nd order harmonic over tones. I took what seemed to be a risk and came out on top. This version of the pedal is excellent. It is an experienced or pro users effect pedal. You must be able to play guitar reasonably well to make the sounds sing. Must high end pedals for Klon, Menatone, HAO, etc are like this.

My other pedals simulate the LA metal sound, and AC Top Boost sound, a Fender Twin sound, and now, the 80's Marshall sound from the tone mater Van Halen. I did my home work. I was searching for the one perfect pedal to give me a Marshall tone with a little more edge. Candidate's includeds the Marshall Govenor, The Option 5 Overdrive/Distortion, Crowther'

It is very well made and they use audiophile grade components in the most recent model. I think they put a lot of thought and R&D into this version of the pedal. I believe that it will be dependable.

I e-mailed twice with no response. On the third try Ryan replied that he did not receive the first two and offered another address to send too, just in case and was apologetic. It is a new company and they are trying hard to make it work. Filling spaces in a niche market is a difficult thing to do.

It is a great pedal designed to give you a famous person's signature sound. I looked for a long time and played a lot of dogs and disappointments until I found this pedal. I am more than satisfied. I am an audiophile and super picky about sound. As I stated, I did a lot of home work and wish to get off the pedal buying and trading merry-go-round. I only buy the best of the best with pedals for my purposes. This pedal has no compromises if used as a sensitive musical instrument, not as a plug and play teens d-tune buzz box. I highly recommend you seek out the new version of this effect. I am told that it has been in production a little more than a month, as of this date.

This box is easy to use, but as a few others have mentioned it's very much a one trick pony. Three knobs one footswitch - easy enough. Pretty much forget the "Brown" knob - it doesn't do much of anything. There's a subtle change, but hardly worth it. The good news is that if the sound works for you then you're set. If it doesn't, well... it doesn't.

I've used this with a Fender Am. Std. Strat, Gibson Les Paul Studio, Carvin DC-150 and a Fender Powerhouse Strat. I'm plugging into a Mesa Blue Angel 1x12 and/or a 1968 Bassman. For the first few days I was pretty happy with the pedal. I've been searching for a way to get close to the EVH type of sound with my clean amps and this seemed to get in the neighborhood. I had a little trouble getting it to sound good live (gigged with it a half dozen times) at higher volumes and the sound just wasn't there. After playing with it for a few more months in the basement I'm liking it less and less. It's middle of the pack for me right now - not my least favorite, but not my fav either.

I find that rather than a "Tube amp" sound as advertised (and some have found), I get a buzzy, raspy sound. Definitely *not* what I had hoped for. It may just be the combination of equipment I use, but the sound just isn't happening for me with this pedal.

Everything seems quite well made. Looking inside it isn't as neat and orderly as my Fulltone, but it looks very solid and I'm sure it will hold up well. The box itself is typical for good quality effects - metal case, durable looking paint, quality parts, etc.

Never tried it, no need. It seems like a small operation so I'd guess they'd be helpful.

I play in a cover band doing the usual bar gigs and such. I was hoping this would be the ticket for the higher gain solos like EVH, Richie Sambora, etc. Not quite there for me though.

I've been playing 20+ years(!) and mainly stick with the Mesa Blue Angel and the Strat, but I'll break out the others on occasion.

I plan on trying something else to get the sound I need, so if it were stolen I'd move on.

I've compared this side by side for a few months now with a Keeley Seeing Eye (modded Boss DS-1) and a Tech 21 GT-2. The GT-2 is working the best for me.

Three knobs, Brown(distortion),Tone & Level. Couldn't be any easier!

The Mr.Ed does the cranked Marshall sound better than most pedals I've used, It might be a one trick pony but what a trick! There's no such thing as the perfect pedal but for the sound this one is designed for it dosen't come any better. I use a Les Paul with EMG's and a Musicman EVH into a Marshall JCM800 and Mesa Boogie Tremoverb.

Built like a Tank.

Ryan is a pleasure to deal with, I've just had the upgrade done to my pedal and I wish that every company that I dealt with was as helpfull as these guys.

My band plays a fairly diverse range of musical styles but for the rock stuff this little baby kicks. I've been playing for about fifteen years and have used a lot of gear over that time and I rate this pedal with some of the best gear I've had. If it was stolen or lost I would buy another one instantly! I'm even thinking of buying another Toadworks product, the Death Rattle, looks very interesting.

Three knobs for volume tone and gain.

I have compared the Mr Ed to my Vintage Rat, Blues Pearl Blue Balls and Roger Mayer Spitfire and I dont believe the Mr Ed is as versatile.

So far it still works.

I suppose if this pedal breaks then Mr Ed would ship you a new one in exchange for the defective pedal since it probably only cost about $25 to manufacture each Mr Ed pedal.

I paid too much for this when my Vintage Rat is half the price. My Rat is more versatile in obtaining different tones and my Rat seems to be built much better. I base my opinion of the Mr Ed on its unusually high steep list price of $180 when I am informed that the Mr Ed was originally available for only $80. Theres no way this Mr Ed pedal is worth the current price, and it seems to me that Mr Ed is taking total advantage of the willingness of people to spend all sorts of money on high quality boutique gear. The problem here is that I dont believe my Mr Ed pedal is high quality gear- my old DOD FX 250 Overdrive/Preamp thats twenty years old (and still in mint condition mind you) is a MUCH better pedal than this Mr Ed.

Usualy a pedal with only three knobs is easy to use. Usualy the three knobs have the expected effect on the sound. But not with Mr. Ed

Mostly prefer older Fender Amps and Strats. With my SF Super Reverb I got the badest result you can imagine. It sounds like crap. With my JCM 800 it was a little bit better but not good. Toadworks argues that this pedal is a distortion. Compared with Mr. Ed my TS808 is a high gain pedal. From a distortion pedal you should expect that it is able to bring a clean amp to distorted sound. Not Mr. Ed.

I would never gig with an effect pedal which only works with batteries and you need a lot of time to change them. But the box and the aluminium knobs are the best parts. From outside it looks very robust but when you open it you ask yourselve:why did they take such a large box for the few little parts which you can buy in every electronic shop for less than 10$.

never dealt with them

I'm playing Blues, Bluesrock but also Hard Rock for 32 years and I own lots of overdrives and distortions which all do their job. But I can't remind having bought a pedal which dissapointed me so as Mr.Ed did. There is no relation between price and the quality you get.

This is exceptionally easy to use. Its a fairly standard configuration for distortion pedals, Volume, Tone, and "Brown" which is a gain control.

Making it more easy is the fact that the tone is pretty weak, attenuated highs and lows for the majority of the sweep of the "Brown" knob, so that knob pretty well stays at the fully clockwise position.

The only difficulty of use comes in when you have to power the pedal. It has no built in ac power jack, and changing the battery requires you to remove the bottom plate. This is a pain, and one that is quite easy to fix. The parts and labor necessary to equip this with an AC input jack wouldn't exceed a dollar or so. For the price tag on this pedal, thats a small investment.

The pedal does a surprisingly good job of replicating Mr. Van Halen's early tone, the novelty of which provides at least a few minutes of entertainment value.

Essentially, it provides the tone of a decent distortion pedal, with the typically booming bass attenuated. This creates a tone reminiscent of early Van Halen but also makes for a good Jimmy Page impression. Exceptionally quiety, both while the effect is engaged and when it is bypassed.

It's in a durable enclosure, probably a hammond 1590-BB. The Jacks, switch and pots are wired point to circuit, so if you break something, you don't necessarily break EVERYTHING.

Peculiarly, the bulk of the electronics are fixed with adhesive to the bottom plate...if you don't recognize this, you can easily damage the unit by removing the plate too far too fast when you go to change the battery.

Additionally, the battery is not fixed in place, but rattles around and has the potential to cause damage if the pedal is moved.

Finally, the electronics are obnoxiously coated in Epoxy. Don't get me wrong, I understand you need to retain your trade secrets and intellectual property. The problem with this is, if some electronic component fails, you have no way of diagnosing the problem, or of repairing the unit, short of completely replacing the entire blob that is covered in epoxy.

They do offer a 5 year warranty, but it is unfortunate that a user is not ABLE to fix it should it break after the warranty period.

I haven't dealt with them.

Pretty much every questionable aspect of the device that I have mentioned have been addressed by the company--the fact that the gain knob doesn't do much, its not gainy enough, it doesn't provide enough of a level boost, the electronics are on the back, and the battery flops around.

They are kind enough to let you send the pedal back so that they can correct these problems, but they require that you pay them extra money.

It's certainly a musically useful pedal, but with no AC jack I'd be hard pressed to rely upon the battery alone, and I don't keep it in my regular rig for that reason.

This pedal has three knobs (level, tone, and brown/dist). The pedal is very responsive to both you and your amp/speakers, so you need to tweak it a bit to dial up the tone you want. But if you do that . . . see SOUND QUALITY.

My Mr. Ed started out as one of the original versions of the pedal. I loved the tone of that pedal. But then I learned that Ryan and Co. decided to listen to suggestions from players (like you and me) and did some improvements to the pedal. So, I had mine upgraded (for only $15) by Ryan at Toadworks. Guess what? I love this pedal EVEN MORE. It has all the tone of the original, but now it offers some HUGE sounding tones. The bass response is suberb, and the crunch is beautiful. Perhaps the biggest improvement is with the Brown knob. It now gives you much more range of adjustment, and allows for more gain than the original Mr. Ed.

Never had any problems at all. Very well made, and simple enough to not cause any worry.

Ryan is a terrific guy. He's very responsive and helpful, and he appreciates his customers. After all, how many manufacturers out there really listen to feedback from customers? There's a handful (Robert Keeley, Zachary Vex, Tech 21, and some others)?

Great pedal! Don't let any previous negative reviews affect your decision on this pedal. Get the new version and feel the tone!

The Mr. ED pedal from Toadworks is fairly easy to use. It has a metal chassis and comes in Indigo-brown and has white-graphical lettering. The unit has a input and a output jack. Along with a footswitch it has 3 knobs; Brown, Tone, and Level. The knob marked Brown can be described as the gain. The Tone knob is of course for the tone and and obviously Level is how much of its signal you want to put in the mix. The footswich is set in the middle. Along with most of my overdrive effects I have this unit has no L.E.D. to signify if it is on or off. Also, to take the battery out, it takes a phillips screwdriver to remove the four screws from the bottom panel. The unit can be accomodate with a 9-volt power supply though.

I use a range of guitars that are outfitted with either single-coils, humbuckers and also soapbar style. It did so-so with the single coils, excellent with the humbucker and it did okay with the soapbars. Note: In general, it is hard to get a good heavy overdrive from almost any kind of effect or amp with guitars that are soapbar pickups, because it turns into mud, but this unit seems to try very hard. This pedal is fairly quiet unless maxed out on all its settings and sometimesalso when the treble or mids on the guitar ampis pegged. But a lot quieter than any other pedal(especially overdrive or distortion) that I have played with. This overdrive pedal scores pretty well by doing what it was advertised and/or designed to do; that is broadcasting the brown sound through the amp once the strings of the guitar are plucked or set in motion. The dynamics are noticable. It can respond to softer or harder playing(picking strokes, hammer-ons, ie..) Controlling the guitars volume can make a significant difference all to the advantage when needed. The ranges of the parameter settings for Brown, Tone, and Level is not that broad. A more drastic twist of the knob(s) are needed to actually hear some variations.

Needless-to-say, if one is looking for a bit of an original sound, do not just use this box alone, get another overdrive to put behind or before the Mr. ED overdrive pedal, so you won't copy Eddie's sound too much and maybe invent your own sound (imagine using it behind a fuzz face)---this unit does work well with other effects. The Mr. ED stompbox can work with clean and some dirty settings depending how the levels are set. To conclude, it seems that Toadworks delivered what they promised. I am happy with my purchase.

So far this has been a tough unit. I would use this without a backup. I did get a chance to look inside this box and observed that it was definately point-to-point hand wiring--Kudos!

N/A

The music I play ranges from rock, hard rock, and some grunge. This pedal won't appeal for nu-metal or goth fans. It really can't keep up with grunge that much either when summoned. But I didn't buy it to drive real heavy and also I have my amp and other pedals for the extra heaviness when needed. What I mainly use this pedal for is to compliment my existing overdrive sounds. It gives a new twist to the tone and besides being a Van Halen fan(pre-Sammy Hagar) it is somehow what I was looking for.

Straightforward, twiddle the knobs.

Problem. There is only one usable sound out of this box. Granted, the sound is actually halfway decent (think Marshall JCM800 era type of overdriven tube amp sound) but it's not a tweakable version of that sound. It's best full on, and less than that it doesn't have a good dynamic range that you can tweak. I faithfully tried it through a Marshall JTM-45 through a 4X12, a Fender Twin, and a Fender Blues Jr. All times when its full on, it really shines, but when trying to tweak to get another usable tone, it really lacked a high end (it's all mids and bottom) that had any kind of good harmonics. One trick pony indeed.

It is built like a rock. Excellent construction and excellent detail on the inside.

Never contacted them.

I play blues/rock/fusion. I think this pedal has great potential if they mod the circuit to have more variety when the brown knob is used it be a usable overdrive that can be used in a variety of setups. As it is...its a steep price to pay for having knobs that don't interact well with eachother.

Pretty easy to use, only 3 nobs.

This should really be two reviews, one before I sent it back and one after I got it back. I boughht it on Ebay and it sounded really thin, no bass at all. I called the phone number on the website to complain, and they said it's not under warranty but since it was an old unit if I wanted to upgrade to a new circut I could for $15. After I got it back it sounded alot better. It had more bass and the distortion nob seemed to work better. before I returned it it was a 3, after I got it back it was 9

It's pretty solidy built, and when they worked on it they moved the electronics into the main box so now nothing is attached to the back.

They were cool, I didn't really want to pay another $15 but they said the warranty would be good, so I guess it's worth it.

Like I said before it was about a 3, it's much better with the new circut. It has lots of bass now and I think it has more gain but I'm not sure.

aq pedal with only three knobs should bee easy to handle. But Mr. Ed's knobs are working very strange.

Used it with several Marshall and older SF Fender Amps. Wondered how the company got the sound files at their homepage. They must have had some kind of "studio fine tuning". I also tried different guitars (Les Paul, a few strats and a friends HM-axe. But there where no good results at all. I can't understand how they can sell it as a distortion. I'm playing for 30 years now and I can`t remember having tried a pedal which had less effect than this one.

The box is build like tank; but that's all. The battery isn't fixed and after a few days I got problems with the switch. Very bad for a 200? distortion.

Never dealt with them.

If my Mr. Ed would bee stolen I would pay the man if he don't bring it back.

It is easy to get a good sound out of this pedal if you just dime everything.

That's about all you can do with it though, sadly.

This pedal unfortunately is a true one trick pony. It has an excellent overdriven half stack sound (ala Van Halen in a box) however, it has not usabile character whatsoever. I tried it with the following three amps.

Marshall Bluesbreaker - It made it sound like a JCM800
Marshall JCM800 - Made it sound hissy, overdriven and useful for Metal
Fender '57 Twin - this was a nasty combination as the overdrive isn't a clear distortion as much as its an overdrive on steroids and doesn't compliment a clean tube amp as well as you might think.

I'm sure it'll last a while..though I sold it quickly.

Never dealt with them...though they should be explaining the high price tag for their one trick pony.

Overall this thing has a great sound. Sadly, its when its dimed that its useful which makes the point of having controller knobs completely useless. If it were 40 bucks and had no knob controls on it..they could sell it as the brown sound in a box. The $180 asking price is way overpriced for something that is built nicely but completely useless in the 'tone' department.

As others have stated, the sounds of this pedal are SO limited, you basically find that one sound and, like it or not, there it is.

Man, was I disappointed. By far the most over-hyped, least rewarding pedal I have ever owned. As has been commented, the marketing for this pedal has been very clever, but what goes around comes around. This pedal has NO sustain WHATSOEVER. Yes, it does do AC/DC open chords with a nice growl, but that's it. And has been previously mentioned, the Brown knob does virtually nothing through 3/4s of its sweep. How the folks at Toadworks can even release a pedal so crippled in this regard is beyond me. The only pedal I've ever owned where I have actually uttered the word "Fraud!"

Who knows? I sold it on E-bay one week after I bought from E-bay. But, again, as soon as you get it, you feel like the Brown knob is busted.

Never dealt with them, but I'm inherently skeptical about their credibility, after the outlandish claims they have made for this pedal.

I play a variety of styles--mostly it's just me practicing, trying to be musical. In spite of my limitations, I am attentive to good tone. I know what I want to hear, and know it when I get it--contrary to the opinions of some mystical types, it is NOT rocket science.

With its 3 knobs it should bee easy to use. But it's impossible to use this pedal.

You may hear what kind of sound it should has, but it hasn't. I tried it with a Marshall JCM 800, a 1972 mod. Twin Reverb and a mod. Blues Junior. And it sounds awfull all the time.

There isn't a solid construction. The 9V block isn't fixed.

Didn't deal with them. Gave it back the same day and got my money back.

You'd better spend your money in buying an other pedal.

Since the Brown (gain) control is only effective in the last 25% of its rotation, it's easy to get the one sound that this pedal has.More on sounds in next section. Four screws to remove back..a hassle. As mentioned by other reviewers, the backplate is connected to the main circuitry by wires, so one has to be very careful when changing the battery. The battery has no means of being held in place, so it flops around inside the pedal when in transit. Not a real big deal, but for a $180 pedal...

The tone of the Mr. Ed is somewhere between overdrive and distortion. On the plus side, lower notes do retain their clarity and the pedal interacts well with other overdrive pedals. In terms of sound the pedal is pretty much a one-trick-pony. As mentioned above and in other reviews, the Gain control is only effective in the last 25% of its sweep. The Tone control is rather ineffective and goes from treble to more treble. The pedal definitely changes the sound of your tone. I used it with a Fender Twin, a Bassman, and a Carvin Belair. I know the pedal claims to simulate the sound of EVH, but I think there are less expensive pedals that provide more variety of sounds that come close to the EVH sound.

Had to replace the switch. They now use Fulltone switches. Prior to Fulltone, Carling switches were used. No other problems.

N/A From what I have read, they are savy when it comes to marketing their products.

As mentioned, this pedal is a one-trick-pony and it does not do that "trick" so well, especially at $180. (More $ if you want an LED) Maybe at one third that price it might be something worth purchasing.
then again.............maybe not!

So incredibly easy to use that even the average Eddie Van Halen fan could figure it out! Just plug in yer wannabe frankenstrat or lame EVH signature model of yer choice into the Mr. ED(die Van Halen) and run the out into yer MXR flanger and Phase 90 into yer Peavey 5150 and BAM, instant Eddie Van Halen! I give it a 10 for ease of use because it's so easy to instantly sound like Eddie Van Halen with this pedal!

The sound quality is toally friggin' awsome! It's like they broke into Eddie Van Halen's used condom stash and stole some of his DNA to put into the capacitors of this pedal! This thing is guaranteed to make you sound EXACTLY like Eddie Van Halen! This is so much better than trying to figure out my own signature tone, that's too much trouble and requires originality! I'd much rather buy this pedal that makes me sound like the greatest guitar god of all time........Eddie Van Halen!!!! Praise GOD (I mean Eddie Van Halen)!!! If you like lightning-fast finger tapping-pinch harmonic-whammy bar antics, then this pedal is for you!

This thing could survive the harshest 80's gigs just like something Eddie Van Halen would have used back when anyone important gave a crap about him! Totally rad paint job with awsome logo!

This Toadworks guy is like a saint! He must have been baptised by Eddie Van Halen himself! I emailed him to let him know how his pedal changed my life by making me sound exactly like Eddie Van Halen and he actually sent me a lock of Eddie Van halen's hair to rub against my face before I go to bed at night!

I play in an Eddie Van Halen cover band and this pedal is the perfect pedal for me. I can't bear to be without it. I've sewn a special little purse to carry this pedal around with me at all times. I only play Eddie Van Halen covers and if I ever play one single phrase that was not written by Eddie Van Halen, I discipline myself by wipping my own back with a cat-o-9tails in front of my shrine to Eddie Van Halen. If it were lost or stolen, I'd probably kill myself in a suicide bombing at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo. Either that, or get another one. What do I love about it? Probably the fact that it makes me sound exactly like Eddie Van Halen. What do I hate about it? The fact that it's very hard to make love to it. If you want to sound just like Eddie Van Halen, buy this pedal!!! If you don't want to sound just like Eddie Van Halen, buy it anyway because once you sound like Eddie Van Halen, you'll realise that your life has had no meaning up until that point.

Doesn't get much easier to use... Standard fuzz/distortion features w/ slight changes in the names.

This unit sounds fantastic. Is it "Eddy" well, yes, pretty darned close. Also sounds great w/ daisey chaining w/ other distortion/ fuzz units for truly unique sounds.

Just got it, seems solidly built. One questionable detail is that in order to change the battery you must unscrew four screws to reveal the inner workings, but you must be careful because a portion of the electrical circuit board is afixed to the bottom cover which can be removed but not too far. I think this may be a stress point and "the weakest link"

Great answered questions over the phone and through email. Builds each unit to order so it takes time.

Would recommend in a second. The price has just recently gone up though..

Very simple. I first cranked the Brown and Tone knobs all the way and Danced the Night Away. If you set the Brown and Tone at around 5-7 you get a very nice tight overdrive.

VH signature Music Man, Steinberger GM-Pro, Fender Strat
Mesa Boogie .50 caliber + Fender Twin hooked up in stereo
Other effects, Expandora 1, J+H, H20, Sparkle Drive, and Micro-Vibe

The sound of the Mr. Ed pedal is just what I hoped it would be. No bones about it, I want to sound like Eddie sometimes and this pedal allows me to do that. But wait . . . it will do other sounds as well. With my set-up I turn the Brown and Tone knobs to 10 and there it is. If I back them off I get a good overdrive sound that really leaves the VH realm.

Also, this pedal is the most dynamic pedal that I own. If you play hard it crunches and if you play soft it cleans up much like a good tube amp. With that said, if you really want the notes to sustain you have to play with some strength - the left hand is very important here as the pedal really does not mask any mistakes you might make because of its dynamic range

Seems very sturdy. I would use it without a backup - but then I don't have an exact backup for anything I own.

By the way, my Mr. Ed has an LED and the 9v jack with the stock red color

Ryan is very helpful.

I love to play and I love to be able to sound like my favorite players: SRV, EVH, Lynch - don't yell at me for this - I can easily sound like a nobody too! This pedal puts a big smile on my face because it helps me do what I want to do.

Very easy that gramma can use. 3 knobs. Brown, tone and level. Brown is apparent was cranked passed 2/3 of the way up. Tone changes are subtle. The level knob sensitivity is very good, works like a volume knob.

It sounds like something between an OD and distortion. This quality can be controlled with the brown knob. For what it does, it does it very well. The brown sound is rich, smooth and has excellent sustain. The breakup is even, very even. The best part is that is sounds nice even at low volume settings. Played with a delay, it oozes ambience. I have gotten a couple of hard-ons..... errr.. Since i am not a van halen fan, i could give a rat's ass if it sounded like him.

Looks very rugged. Only had it for 1 week, though. Seems like i can drive a tank over it and it won't break. No need for backup. Ed does not have a AC adapter however, but this is an optional upgrade. Battery life seems excellent so far, but make sure to bring an extra just in case. You will need a screwdriver to change the battery inside.

This is REALLY GOOD!!!! A freaking 10 plus., and that would be an underexageration.. The customer service that i got was undeserving.

I am not into Van Halen, but i heard the sound clips on the website and bought it based on those clips alone. I've been playing for 10 years. I play an LP through a Marshall tube DSL401 amp. Mr Ed is played with a boss DD5 delay usually (very nice combo). Stolen?? Haha, probably will hearing how good it sounds. Ed makes good lead sounds, and also some good rhythm but i prefer the former. This pedal is worth it. It is not the most versatile pedal ever, but it does give an excellent sound. Get it.

Please forgive the format of my review - but I copied this from a thread I ran about the Mr Ed on the Harmony Central Effects forum, and I just didn't feel like re-typing this whole thing.

Please see below for my complete review.

Well, here we go Bro?s - I received Mr. Ed today (#63), standard red w/white lettering, no additional options. I have spent the last 3 hours with this unit (& others for a side-by-side shootout comparison). For my review I A/B?d between a tube amp (Fender DeVille 2X12), and a solid state amp (Fender RocPro half stack). On both amps I set the bass, mid, and treble at 5, and the volume on both amps at 2, and I used the clean channels.
For my initial test run of the Mr. Ed all by itself - I incorporated (3) different guitars - A Gibson Les Paul Studio (humbuckers), a Fender Lonestar Strat (2 single coil Texas specials and an SD Pearly Gates humbucker at the bridge) and a Gibson Les Paul Special (with P-100 stacked humbuckers) just to see if this pedal sounded good/great with different types/configurations of guitars and pickups. It rocked! It also sounded equally excellent with both tube and solid state amps!

For my ?sweet spot? settings on the Mr. Ed, I dialed in the following: (For my settings description, let?s assume that all 3 knobs go from 0-10 with 10 being full out, or turned all the way up)

Brown - 8-10
Tone - 4
Level - 7

These settings prooved to be excellent on all 3 guitars and out of both amps - so that is how I determined my sweet spot.

Quick Summary

This pedal is excellent. Of all the descriptions of ?Brown Sound? that have appeared on this forum - no one really quite nailed it down for me, or explained it in a way that I could define in my mind on how it was different from other overdrives. I called Ryan as soon as I received the pedal - and had spent about 15 minutes with it using my Les Paul and the RocPro - and told him I was NOT returning this pedal. It impressed me that quickly.

I told Ryan that no one had really defined the Brown Sound for me before, and Ryan?s description of what he envisioned it to be was ?natural tone plus a bit of overdrive?. I would concur with his description. And from that I would conclude that this is brown sound at it?s best. The best way I can, in a word, define the tone of this pedal versus other overdrives that I have used is ?unique?. It?s unique in that it fills a definitive void in the world of overdrives - in other words - there?s nothing else quite like it (as far as my own personal experience can attest to) and I believe in a blindfold test - I could easily pick out the Mr. Ed.

Side-By-Side Shootout Results

For my shoot-out, I used my Les Paul with the Fender RocPro. I A/B?d the Mr. Ed against the following:

Vintage Marshall Bluesbreaker
Visual Sounds Jekyll & Hyde
Marshall Guvnor Plus (GV-2)

I was going to also A/B it against the Ibanez Tube King, but I thought in fairness, I should not throw a tube-pedal into the mix.

When I opened the back of the Mr. Ed to put in a battery, I was amazed at the simplicity of the components in this pedal. Quite frankly, after looking into the back of so many pedals - my first impression was that, for the scarcity of electronic things staring back at me - I thought to myself - well, this isn?t going to sound like much... I was wrong.

Vintage Marshall Bluesbreaker

I started out with this one first because of Ryan?s definition of ?brown sound?. This pedal immediately came to mind because this pedal is what I think of when I think of Ryan?s definition. I set the Bluesbreaker knobs to get as close as possible to the Mr. Ed in volume, tone, grit, etc. (Gain - full out, Tone at 11:00, Volume at 2:00)

The Marshall was more suppressed or muddy by comparison. The Mr. Ed was clearer, cleaner, and grittier. Hands down Mr. Ed beat the living shit out of this pedal. If I could only have one - or the other - I would definitely pick Mr. Ed

VS Jekyll & Hyde

On both sides of the J&H - I set the drive to full out, volumes were at 11:00, tone at 10:00 (EQ on the Hyde side was all the way off). Again - remember these settings were dialed in to as closely as possible emulate the overall tone, punch and clarity of the Mr. Ed.

Built like a tank. Have not had it long enough to fully rate this - but because of Ryan Dunn's customer service and personal follow up's, I'm giving it a rating of 10 because it comes with a 5 year warranty.

Above and beyond what I have ever received from any other manufacturer. Where else can you get an effect unit and talk to the guy that actually made it..

Best price for a boutique pedal of excellent sound quality that I have ever experienced. I highly recommend this unit!

Very, VERY easy to use. 3 knobs as previously stated, Brown (gain), Tone, and Level. Ordered mine w/o the A/C jack, so only with a 9V battery. On/off button (similar to MKR buttons) is "different" and a little uneasy getting used to, but only because I'm so used to the Boss on/off buttons, which are easier to switch. The tone isn't that versitile, but it does nail the Brown Sound effectively, which is why it was bought. Amps certainly make a difference on what tone you'll get out of this pedal, Ryan's website defines that well, too. The 3 amps he tested the Ed with are a solid state 15W Vox pathfinder, a tube Carvin 2x12 (I think), and a Fender '63 brown face. The 3 tones are distinctively different, but to each his own. Nothing that a good EQ couldn't fix, if need be.

I run my Kramer Focus (with the upgraded quad rails pickups) into a Boss SD-1 for boost (level 50%, tone 100%, gain 5%), into the Mr. Ed (all three knobs pegged at 100%), into my Rocktron Gainiac clean, then the Lexicon MPX100, then my solid state Marshall MG30RCD. The pedal is very quiet when not playing; it's my Boss SD-1 that's a bit noisy. The "Brown" control doesn't affect the gain as much until you get to the 75%-100% range, where it's really touchy, yet easy to find the gain you're looking for. IMO my setup closely emulates the EVH's infamous "Brown Sound", and it's all solid state! The chords are the best part of the pedal; the breakup is very smooth and sounds a lot like a modded Plexi when coaxed right. The individual notes itself are a bit thin, but that's because it's solid state. If I were playing through a tube amp, surely it would be a different story.

This thing looks as though it's built like a tank. The knobs and on/off switch is very secure, the circuitry is very well soldered and sturdy. I wouldn't even hesitate to use this without a backup, as long as I carried extra 9V batteries.

Ryan at Toadworks is a great guy. Very nice and helpful. He's always kept me up to date with the status of the pedal. His website has a very broad range of soundclips of different amps so you can hear what you're buying instead of taking a shot in the dark. The waiting period from date of purchase to date of delivery is about 5 weeks now, but only because it's a very small shop and only 2 or 3 guys are making these pedals by hand. The wait is definately worth it.

I play mostly 80's hard rock/heavy metal, mainly VH and Dokken/Lynch Mob. I've been trying to get the EVH sound from my solid state amp since the day I started playing guitar about 5 years ago, and now I have a tone that I'm more than happy with. I'm going to buy a Boss GE-7 EQ soon and see how the Mr. Ed fares with some George Lynch-style tones. I only wish it would come with the A/C jack and an LED, but I didn't buy the pedal for cosmetics or "creature comforts"; I bought it for the tone, which is what ultimately counts. Previous distortions I've used include (chronologically): Boss Metal Zone, Digitech RP200 (mainly Stack and Rectified), and Rocktron Gainiac. If it were stolen, I wouldn't hesitate to shell out another $100, because IMO I think it's worth more than that. All in all, this pedal is worth it's weight in gold. :)

Three knobs...Three tweaks very easy.I find the best sounds are when the knobs are cranked.It sounds great for solos and if you roll of your volume you get some cool tones also.

Stratacaster > Teese Wah > Sweetsound Ultravibe > Analog man Comprossor > Mr Ed > Fender blues junior with a greenback speaker.I can get some cool original classic hard rock sounds.

I've only had it a month I think so I can't comment.So farr so good though.

Prompt email nice guy.I wish all customer service was like this in the world.

Great price for a great pedal.If it got lost I would probally stick to what pedals I already have and I have alot.I will say this pedal has it's own charactor and that's what I like about it.